Category Archives: Stories for Teens

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Parable of the Rose

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Gran and Bobby were walking around Gran’s garden one afternoon, and they came to the patch where the roses were growing. Gran loved her carpet roses which are the sort that naturally sprawl all over the ground, making a great thick tangled “carpet” on the ground if they are left. They are a very tough rose and very seldom get diseases like black spot on their leaves, and Gran really loved them.

“Gran”, Bobby said, “How do you get them to stand up straight and tall with those mop tops?”

“Well, you see”, said Gran, “If I left them to grow how they want to grow, they would just be a tangled mess on the ground, so that’s why I trim them up to keep them tidy.”

She pointed to the tallest ones at the back of the patch, “Those are the first ones I trained like that Bobby,” she said, “And you can see they are now standing tall and slim with a “mop top” that gets covered with flowers”.

Then she pointed to the ones in front. “Those are the young plants that grew from cuttings last year. Every year, after the hot summer sun has finished, the rose plants sprout their new growth from the bottom of their main stem…see these ones here”, and Gran got down beside the front ones. “See these lovely long shoots, looking so healthy and strong. But they can’t be left there because then they will make the “carpet” on the ground and lose their “standard” look”.

Gran pulled the long new shoots off at the base of the roses, saying “I know this is going to hurt them but it has to be done to keep their beautiful shape. Each year the main stem is getting stronger and stronger, and keeping its shape so the flowers can be seen up high instead of dragging on the ground!”

Bobby watched as Gran snipped off a few more. “What are you going to do with those ones you’ve cut off?” he asked.

“I’ll keep the best ones. “ Gran said, “and put them in fresh soil to become the new cuttings for the next year. The ones from the year before that have taken root and are now growing on their own, and I’ve staked and tied them up. Then in another year or so, they will stand tall and straight with their “mop tops” like the main ones at the back.”

“Wow!” said Bobby, “There’s a lot more to growing roses than I thought!”

They slowly walked back to the house.

“What does all this mean?” Bobby asked, “You always seem to know what things mean!”

“Well,” said Gran, “It reminds me how God has a garden with all sorts of plants growing in it. We are all different just as the flowers are all different, and they all need different ways of being looked after. Some of us are like the roses we’ve just been looking at. If we’re left to ourselves, we sprawl all over the ground, getting tangled up with each other, and having disagreements, each wanting to go our own way. But as God, our Master Gardener, trims us up, He takes off the unwanted stalks and shoots, and helps us to stand tall and straight for Him. He doesn’t leave us to wave around in the wind any old way, but He ties us firmly to a stake so we can grow tall and straight for Him.

“ Yes, it does hurt at times, and other times we can’t see why a perfectly strong healthy shoot has to be taken off, but He knows that it will spoil the picture He has in His mind for us. The plant will sometimes put all its energy into that new growth, rather than into bearing the flowers that He wants to see in us.”

“Oh, I never thought of anything like that, Gran,” Bobby said, “That’s really neat!”

“So the next time we have disappointments, let’s ask ourselves what we can learn from them, and straighten ourselves up to bear flowers for our Gardener to see  and enjoy,” said Gran, “and do you know what Bobby? I’m discovering that the older I get, I’m like that first rose plant I put in the ground, with its main stalk all gnarled and wrinkled.  But there are still unwanted shoots coming out of me that have to be taken off so I can bear flowers for God to enjoy.”

“Oh,” said Bobby slowly as they reached the house, “So that means that it doesn’t matter how old or how young we are, we still have to have those straggly shoots taken off us?”

“Yes,” said Gran, “But it’s not all too hard, Bobby. We still have God’s stick  beside us to hold us up and stand straight and strong for Him! Anyway, let’s go inside  and put the jug on and have a nice hot drink!”

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Why Pray?

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Uncle Jeff was driving back from church this particular Sunday morning and Bobby and Sarah had climbed in beside him.

“What was the preacher talking about this morning?” Uncle Jeff asked after they had gone past the first set of traffic lights. Sarah was quiet.    “He was talking about why we should pray”, Bobby said, “But I didn’t really get what he meant.”

“Did you know what he meant, Sarah?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“Yes,” she replied, “He was saying that just as Jesus prayed to God, so that is why we should pray too.”

“That’s right,” said Uncle Jeff. “Do you remember what some of the reasons Jesus prayed were?”

“Well, sometimes He prayed all night”, Bobby piped up.

“That’s right Bobby,” said Uncle Jeff, “But can you remember what some of the things He prayed about were?”

“Well, before He chose His twelve disciples, He prayed for God to show Him which ones to choose”, Sarah said.

“Yes, He did,” Uncle Jeff said, “Why do you think that He chose Judas then, when he was the one who would tell on Him?”

“It was part of God’s plan for one of them to do it, and Judas was the one,” Sarah said.

“That’s exactly it,” Uncle Jeff said as he turned into the road that led to their street.  “What else did Jesus pray for Bobby?”

“Well, He always gave thanks for the food before He ate it,” Sarah said,

“Oh, is that why we always say grace before we start eating?” Bobby asked.

“It sure is”, said Uncle Jeff as he pulled into their driveway, “And that makes me feel hungry! Let’s go inside!”

    Later on, after lunch, Sarah said, “Is it important how we sit to pray, Uncle Jeff?”

“Let’s have a look how Jesus did it,” he said, “Get your Bible and turn to Matthew chapter twenty-six and verse thirty-nine….what does that say?”

“He got down with His face on the ground to pray”, Bobby said after reading it.  “So what does that tell us?” Uncle Jeff said.

“It tells us that He was very serious about what He was praying for”, Sarah said, “It must be showing us that we must really mean what we are saying, and not just gabbling something off.”

“There is something else too,” Uncle Jeff said, “There are some people in the world that are so serious about their religion that they all get down on their knees with their faces on the ground and their hands spread out in front of them, and pray like that five times a day!”

“Wow!” said Bobby, “I guess that if they do that, we should do the same thing when we pray to God because He is the one true God isn’t He Uncle Jeff?”

“Yes,” said Uncle Jeff, “And at least we know that our God hears our prayers because He has told us to pray for each other. If He has told us that, He must be glad to hear our prayers, eh?”

“I guess so,” Sarah said slowly, “But I  sometimes think that my prayers don’t get far.”

“I think we all feel like that at times, Sarah”, Uncle Jeff said, “But we are to remember that God loves to hear His children talking to Him, just as much as your Mum and Dad love to hear you telling them about all the things that have happened each day. So  because of that reason on its own, surely we must take time to talk to God every day! “

“That’s something we can make for this new year’s resolution, isn’t it Uncle Jeff?” Bobby said.

“It surely is, let’s all make up our minds to do it better than we have before”, he said.

“Doesn’t the Bible tell us to pray for each other too?” Sarah asked, “I guess that is a good enough reason to pray too….I never thought about it like that before. So it doesn’t really matter how we pray as long as we DO it!”

“That’s it, my girl,” Uncle Jeff said, “It’s no use just talking about what we should do or might do…..we have to get to work and DO it!”

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Why Bother?

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                                                   Why Bother?

Uncle Jeff came into the room where Sarah was curled up on the couch doing what she liked best….reading a book.

She uncurled herself, and said, “Where have you come from just now Uncle Jeff?” she asked.

“I’ve been helping out at a working bee at the church” he said, “the place needed a good wash down and there were some other odd jobs that needed doing around the place”.

Bobby came rushing in to the room bouncing a ball as he came. “Oh hullo Uncle Jeff”, he said stopping the bouncing. “Do you have any stories to tell us today?”

“My word, you DO like your stories don’t you?”  Uncle Jeff said as he sat down in the easy chair. “Well, as a matter of fact, I don’t have any stories off the top of my head, but I have been thinking about a good way to read the Bible stories for yourself now you are getting older. DO you read it at all Bobby?” he asked looking sharply a him.

Bobby looked a bit ashamed of himself. “Aw, no, not really”, he said, “It’s so hard to find where the stories are, and then I forget where I’m up to so I don’t bother….much”.

“Oh come now,” said Uncle Jeff, “It’s not that bad. What about you Sarah?” looking across at her.

“Well, I know I ought to”, Sarah said, “and honestly I DO try. But like Bobby said, I make a start and then I get too busy or too tired, and don’t carry on with it.”

“Well”, said Uncle Jeff, “I’m sure you would never be too busy or too tired to eat your tea each night. That feeds your body and gives you energy, and reading the Bible is what feeds your soul, and helps you do the right things.

“I’ll tell you a good way to do it so you won’t forget where you are up to….but you have to make up you mind to do it every night before you go to sleep. Or if you are a morning person, and wake up feeling great, do it then before you get up. But you need a couple of things to help you. Get an exercise book and pencil, and decide where you are going to read.

“ There are lots of places where there are very exciting stories. In fact, a good place to start would be right at the very beginning in the book of Genesis as this explains how everything began in the first place. There is no need to read a whole lot at once. Maybe just ten verses or a few more if it looks interesting.

Then follow the ABC method of making notes”.

“What do you mean by that Uncle Jeff?” Sarah asked.

“It’s quite simple really,” said Uncle Jeff, “ ‘A’ stands for A Good Title. So you think of a good name for the part you are reading and write that down.

Then ‘B’ stands for Best Verse. You look for the verse you like the best and write that down, or just the number of it.”

“Does  ‘C’ come next Uncle Jeff” Sarah asked, “what does that stand for?”

“Yes, ‘C’ stands for Challenge. Find something there that makes you stop and think that maybe you didn’t know that before or perhaps you should be doing that. Or maybe it is something that the person in the story should have done instead of what they did do!”

“Sounds like a lot of work”,  Bobby said dubiously. He didn’t like writing much.

“Well, I suppose it is a bit of work, but it is worth it in the long run”, said Uncle Jeff, “And you won’t forget where you get up to or what you’ve read about!”

“That sounds like a good idea”, said Sarah, “I’ll go and see if I can find a spare exercise book right now!”

“It’s alright for you Sarah,”  Bobby said a bit grumbly, “you like writing!”

“Well, perhaps we could do it together then” Sarah said, “You do the reading out loud and we’ll ask each other the questions and I’ll do the writing!”

“That sounds like a jolly good idea” said Uncle Jeff, “ and now how about putting the kettle on. I’m feeling thirsty!”

“Was there a ‘D’ Uncle Jeff?” Sarah asked as she got up.

“Well, if you really wanted to find one, you could look for a ‘Difficulty’….. something that you find hard to understand or something that the person in the story found hard to do. I’m sure it won’t be hard to find one of those!”

“No”, said Bobby, “All that writing is my big difficulty!!!”

“Oh come on Bobby, Sarah will do the hard bits. I’ll look forwards to hearing how you are getting on the next time I come round!”

 

 

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Wonderful Glass!

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Glass is wonderful stuff! 

“Oh, yuk!” Bobby exclaimed as he pulled a glass jar out of the fish pond.

“What ever are you doing with that?” Mum asked.

“Ooh, it’s yukky!” Betty said as she came in on the act.

“You’d better go and clean it out and wash it,” Mum said, “And make sure you do it properly with plenty of water and detergent” she called after him as he trudged off with it.

Later on she went inside and said, “How well did you get that jar clean, Bobby?”

He pointed to a sparkling jar on the bench. “Look how nice and clean it is now!” he said proudly.

“You’ve made a really good job of that Bobby”, she said, “I couldn’t have done better myself!”

“Do you know what that reminds me of?” Uncle Jeff asked from the depths of his armchair where he was sitting, “It just shows that no matter how dirty we let our lives get with being mean and nasty, God can still clean us up if we ask Him to. But we have to really mean it for Him to do it.”

“It didn’t get really shiny until Bobby used the detergent”, Betty said.

“No, that’s just like us trying to clean our own selves up,” Uncle Jeff said, “It doesn’t last and we never get to being sparkly and shiny. It’s as though the Lord Jesus uses the detergent of His Word on us and then we are just like brand new again.”

“Doesn’t the Bible say something about it being like washed by the Word?” Sarah asked as she came in and heard what they were saying.

“Yes, it does. And just as that glass will get dirty again, it will need to be washed again and again, but the actual glass is still shiny underneath it all. We just have to ask God to clean us up each time we do or say something that is wrong,” agreed Uncle Jeff.

“Yes, that’s right,” Mum said, “Glass is a wonderful thing and it is lovely to see it so shiny and clean again. Thanks Bobby!”

 

 

 

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

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  People often ask this question….it just seems that life isn’t fair!! We do the best we can and then things go wrong for us!

The Bible tells us about a man like this, a good man who did the best he could and then he lost everything. It also gives us a picture of why this happened which will help us to see things differently when things go wrong or us too.

If we turn to the Bible and look at Job chapter one, verse one, we read….”there was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright, one who feared (respected and reverenced) God and who hated evil.”

So we see that Job always did his best and as we read down the chapter, we see the things that he did for himself and for his family. Let’s turn it into a story……

One day, God’s team of angels came to report to Him. God noticed a shiny, glistening, sneaky looking one among them who  didn’t usually come, and recognised him instantly.

“Where have you come from, Satan?” He asked.

“I’ve been walking up and down all over the place,” Satan replied shiftily.

“Have you seen any person as good as My servant Job is?”, God asked, “No-one else is as good in the whole world as he is….he loves Me and hates everything evil! He makes me an offering every day, not only for himself but also for his family.”

“Ho”, sneered Satan looking at God, ” No wonder he is so good! You look after him on every side, and have given him all he’s got! I bet if you took it all away from him it’d be a different story! He would curse You to Your face if that happened!!”

God knew His man, and He knew He could trust Job to do the right thing.

“OK,” He said to Satan, “We’ll see. I’m allowing you to take away everything that he has. I know he will stand firm for Me.”

Satan chuckled gleefully. ” I’ll make him sorry for following God’s ways. I can beat him!”

So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.                                  The next day, Job got up early as he usually did, and made the morning sacrifice for himself and his wife. Then he made another sacrifice to cover each of his children. As he did this, he prayed for each of them, as he did every day. “Lord”, he said, “Please help the boys to stand firm for you; help them to resist temptations, and always be helpful  to their mother and sisters. I pray for the girls, Lord that they will not be vain with how they look, but that they will try their best to be beautiful with their minds and their speech.”

Job knew that his eldest son was putting on a party that day for his brothers and sisters, and he hoped that everything would go well for them all. While he was sitting there after breakfast thinking about them, he saw one of his servants rushing up the path. He could tell something was wrong.

“What’s the matter?” he called out as the man got close enough to hear.

“We were out in the field ploughing with the bullocks and the donkeys were there beside them when a marauding tribe from over the hill came and rounded them up, killing all the herdsmen, and I’m the only one who got away!”

With that, he fell down on the ground panting with the run, and fright at what he had seen.

The man had hardly finished telling Job this when another servant came panting up. “Oh!,” he said, “There was a massive lightning storm over the paddock where the sheep were, and they have all been struck dead as well as the other servants there. I’m the only one who managed to get away to tell you!”

A third servant came panting in from another direction and said, “The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yes, and killed the servants with swords; and I only am escaped alone to tell you.”

Job hardly had time to take all this in when another servant came rushing in from the direction of the oldest boy’s house.

“Oh, oh,” he wailed when he saw Job, “Your sons and your daughters were eating their meal and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house when there was a terrific gust of wind rushing in from the desert like a tornado, and the roof was lifted off and the whole thing collapsed on everyone else in the house, and they are all dead! I’m the only one to  escape and tell you!”

Job had been sitting down all this time, and now he stood up and tore his long robe off his shoulders. He went inside and shaved the hair all off his head to show how upset he was.

His wife and servants wondered how he would cope with all this bad news and the disasters that had happened. But he didn’t curse or swear, or even complain. It didn’t even enter his head to ask God why this had all happened.

Instead, he got down on his knees and prayed in front of everyone left in his house, and said, ” I was born naked with nothing, and I will go back to God the same way, with nothing. The LORD gave me these things, and the LORD has taken them away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

In all these disasters Job didn’t sin or complain and blame God foolishly. I wonder how we would act if this happened to us?

 

 

Stories for Teens

Who Will Win?

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Bobby groaned, and rolled over in bed sleepily. Something was going to happen, he thought groggily, What was it?

Suddenly he remembered and getting out of bed was no problem then. It was the big yacht race on the other side of the world, and if he wanted to see it begin, he would have to wake up now and turn the TV on. Bobby had always loved sailing boats as long as he could remember. He just loved going out with his Uncle Jeff in his yacht, every chance he got, and his ambition was to join a junior yacht club one day soon.

Bobby thought it seemed odd that there were three major sporting competitions going on at the same time this year…. there were the national yacht races in the Caribbean, the country’s rugby team playing for a world cup against a visiting team, and Bobby’s Dad was involved in the local golf club tournaments. Not that that was of any national importance, but it was to Bobby. He was pleased that the rugby games didn’t clash with the yacht races, at least he could watch each of them on TV at different times.

Bobby wasn’t all that keen on actually playing in sports, but he sure loved watching them on TV. It was a lot easier than actually getting out and doing all that practice, he thought lazily.

He remembered what his school teacher had said about training for competitive sport, and thought that although sport was something that interested most people it was a lot easier to just watch it from a sideline. The TV programme of the yacht race was soon over with his country’s side winning by quite a margin. Bobby yawned and went to make himself a hot drink before going back to bed for a last minute snooze. He wasn’t used to waking up so early and he had had to do it for two mornings in a row now.

Bobby thought how so many sports involved a ball of some sort, or else it could involve some piece of equipment, maybe even a large and expensive thing like a sailing boat or motor car. Whatever it was, the most important thing in any sport, was the effort and preparation  that the competitor had to make and train for, to be successful.

This is something that we all have to realise….there is no gain without some pain. Bobby hadn’t realised that yet, but if he wanted to get into competitive yacht racing in the club, he was going to have to learn to start regular training. It would be no use just standing on the side line and  cheering his side, he would have to get out there and do his bit. So too, we must make up our mind what we want to go in for, and then give it our best shot. As one old gentleman used to say, “If you aim high, you’ll hit the gooseberry bush!” So let us each one “aim high” and then work our hardest to get there!

Stories for Teens

What is Easter About?

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  LILY It was Easter Sunday at lunch time, and all the family were gathered around the dinner table. Mum had made everyone’s favourite meal of roast lamb with peas, potatoes and carrots, and they were sitting around talking, letting the first course settle down before the pudding came.

   Uncle Jeff was there too as he often was, and he said, “Well Bobby, what did the preacher tell us about in church this morning?”

“I know,” said Betty without waiting to see what Bobby said, “It was about Jesus dying on the cross.”

“Very good, it was too,” said Uncle Jeff, “What else can you remember?”

“He used some big words all starting with the letter ‘v’ ” Bobby said, “One word was violent, and he said that meant that Jesus had some horrid things done to Him before He was put on the cross.”

“That’s right”, Uncle Jeff said, “What were some of those violent things that were done to Him?”

“He was whipped”, Bobby said.

“He had a crown of thorns with long spikes on it jammed onto His head”, said Sarah, “and the blood all ran down His face.”

“Yes, that’s right. What was another ‘v’ word then?” asked Uncle Jeff.

“He said it was a vicious death”, said Sarah, “and that means that they were really trying to hurt Him a lot.”

“They hated Him,” piped up Betty.

“They did too”, said Dad who was listening to all this, “They were really vindictive the way they treated Him. That means that they were trying to be as mean to Him as they could be because they hadn’t liked what He was saying about being God’s special Sent One.”

“Just like Emma was mean to me,” Betty said, “when she hit me the other day for nothing!”

“What was another ‘v’ word?” Uncle Jeff asked, “Those are three ‘v’ words about how the people were treating the Lord Jesus. What was another word that shows us how He felt?”

There was silence for a moment while everyone stopped to think.

“I know,” said Sarah, “It was voluntary. That means that He did it because He wanted to help people.”

“Oooh,” said Betty, “How could Him being hurt so badly help people?”

“It was something to do with Him paying for our sins wasn’t it?” asked Sarah.

“Yes,” said Uncle Jeff, “That was part of it. He did it because He wanted to, no-one was making Him do it.”

“I remember another word,” Bobby said, “He said it was valid for today. What exactly does that mean?”

“That means that what He did all those years ago on the cross still counts for today,” Uncle Jeff said.

“I remember another one,” Betty said, “He said it was val…valable. What does that mean?”

“You mean valuable,” Sarah said, “That means that it was worth a lot then and even  for us today.”

“Yes, that’s right”, said Dad, “We wouldn’t be able to pray to God at all if Jesus hadn’t died on the cross for us.”

“I’m so glad He did,” said Betty with a sigh, “I like praying to God when things go wrong. It just seems to make things better straight away.”

“Well, are you all ready for your pudding?” Mum called out from the kitchen, “Sarah, come and help carry it in! I’m so glad you were all listening so well to the sermon this morning! The main thing now is to remember it!”

Stories for Teens

Do You Really Listen?

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                                                       Luke 8: 10-18

  PECHI092How much do we REALLY listen when people are talking to us? Or when the preacher is speaking at church? Sarah had the same problem……

    “This is awfully hard to understand”, said Sarah one Saturday afternoon  while her mother was getting tea ready.

“How do you mean?” asked Mum.

“Well, our lesson for this week is about listening, and how to not lose what we’ve been given”.

“It sounds like a bit of a puzzle”, Mum said, only half listening. “Why don’t you ask Uncle Jeff tonight when he comes round for tea?”

“Oh, that’s a good idea” said Sarah, “Is he coming round then?”

“Yes”, said Mum, “Didn’t you hear me telling you all this morning that he was coming?”

“Well, I was busy texting Emma and didn’t hear what you were saying!” Sarah said.

Mum smiled. She thought that Uncle Jeff would be able to explain very easily what Sarah wanted to know.

     After tea was over and everyone was settled down for the evening, Uncle Jeff came over to where Sarah was curled up on the couch in her favourite position.

“Well Sarah,” he said, “What is your lesson for tomorrow about?”

“Oh Uncle Jeff”, Sarah said, “I was going to ask you about that! It’s from Luke chapter eight and it’s about listening. It’s the sower’s parable, and it keeps saying to hear what is being explained. Then later on, it says that we have to be careful we don’t lose what we’ve been given. What’s that all about?”

“Well”, said Uncle Jeff, “We have to remember that Jesus was explaining about the seed that was sown and the crop that came from it. That is about all that we remember about that story. But Jesus was actually saying a lot more than that. Let’s look at those verses and see what He was really saying. What does verse ten say?”

Sarah read it slowly. “It says that He was explaining it to the disciples so that they could understand it”.

“That’s right”, said Uncle Jeff, “What does verse twelve say?”

“It says that the first lot of people hear God’s Word, and then the Devil comes along and takes it away. I suppose that means that it goes in one ear and out the other”.

“Yes, that is exactly what it is saying”, Uncle Jeff said, “What does verse thirteen say about hearing?”

“It says that the next lot of people that hear God’s Word think it’s a great idea but it doesn’t last. It’s like sleeping on a good idea and seeing what you think the next morning  and then changing your mind about it I s’pose”.

“You’re getting the picture Sarah,” said Uncle Jeff. “What do you see about the next lot of people who hear God’s Word?”

“It seems as though they get too busy with work or things like sport to be able to fit church in”, Sarah said.

“That’s exactly right Sarah. We’ve seen all the people now who heard God’s Word but they never did anything much about it”, Uncle Jeff said, “So what conclusion do you come to about these people?”

“I s’pose it means that they should have listened and then done something about it” Sarah said slowly, “Is that how that verse about losing what we’ve been given ties in with all this?”

“What do you think Sarah?” Uncle Jeff asked, “Let’s look at verse fifteen and see what it says. What do the people who grow a good crop do about listening?”

Sarah read it through and then said, “It says that when they really HEAR what God is saying, they KEEP it, and then DO it! “

“Now read verse eighteen and tell me what you see there”, Uncle Jeff said.

Sarah read it and then said, “That’s what was puzzling me before!  But now I can see that people who hear what the Bible says and do it will get a lot more blessings, while those who only half listen won’t do what it says and after a bit they’ll think it’s not worth bothering with any more. They’ve lost it!”

“Good girl!” said Uncle Jeff, “I’ll give you top marks for that! Now you’ll be able to explain it to the others tomorrow”.

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