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Why?

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                                   Why Do Bad things Happen to Good People?                                                        (Read Luke 7:11-29)

“Well”, said Dad as the family sat down around the lunch table, “What did you learn at church today?” “The preacher told us about John the Baptist being in prison”, Bobby said munching his lettuce and ham. “Yes, and it was all because he told the king he shouldn’t be doing wrong things”, said Sarah, “Everyone knew about it so I don’t see why John should have been put in prison.” “That’s right”, said Bobby, “Why DO bad things happen to good people anyway? Can’t God stop them happening?””.

“What do you think Uncle Jeff?” Sarah said, turning to him. “Well, it’s like this”, Uncle Jeff said, “John was given a special job to do by God….can you remember what it was?” “I remember”, Betty piped up, “Our teacher told us about John. It was his job to tell people that Jesus was coming wasn’t it?” “That’s right” said Uncle Jeff, “And now that job was finished. Jesus was there, going around teaching the people and doing miracles for them, and they could see and hear Him for themselves”. “I know that”, Bobby said, “But it still doesn’t seem fair for John to be put in prison”. “John was a strong man”, Dad said, “And God knew He could depend on him, even in prison”. “Yes, but he did wonder what had gone wrong”, Sarah said thoughtfully, “Because he sent that message to Jesus asking if he had been mistaken.”

“Can you remember what happened to the messengers then?” Uncle Jeff asked. “Yes, Jesus didn’t answer them straight away. Instead He took them with Him while He was healing the sick people, and making blind people see and deaf people hear. And all the time He was preaching to people around Him”, said Bobby. “Then He told them to go back to John and tell him what they had seen Him doing. He specially said to not be offended by Jesus because he was in prison…he wasn’t to blame God for what had happened”, said Sarah. “I DID notice one thing though”, she carried on, “Jesus didn’t growl at him for wondering these things.” “No, that’s right” Dad said, “What do you think that shows us about Jesus?” “How understanding He is”, Sarah said. “Yes, and then He went on to tell the people what a great man John was and how strong he was for God”, Bobby said. “I heard that too”, said Betty, “John did what God told him to”. “That’s right Betty”, said Uncle Jeff, “Jesus told the people that John had been a special announcer telling people that God’s Messenger was right there with them. John was a tough man, one who wouldn’t change his mind, and he never did. But he DID want to make sure he was right. Once his friends returned and told him what Jesus had been doing, he knew for sure that Jesus was the real Messiah”.

“Yes,” said Bobby, “But you still haven’t said why God allowed all this to happen and then didn’t the king chop his head off in the end?” “Well, like I said before, John’s job was done. He had done all that God asked him to do, and now God was ready to take him to be with Him. We can’t argue with God….when it is His time to take us, it will happen. John was obedient to what God had asked him to do and we must be the same, and then we will be ready to meet Him, no matter when”. “Mmmm”, said Bobby thoughtfully, “That’s a hard ask.” “It sure is”, agreed Sarah, “But after all God has the last say for all of us doesn’t He?” “I want to be ready”, said Betty as she reached for a piece of apple pie. “Now, now”, said Mum, “That’s the second piece you’ve had Betty!” Betty quickly began to eat it. “I guess that life isn’t always about being fair”, Sarah said thoughtfully. “That’s right”, said Dad, “That is what makes us strong Christians and better for God rather than being bitter against Him. Big  winds make plants grow stronger. Without that they stay soft and weak”. “I don’t want to be soft and weak”, Betty said.

 Mum looked across at Dad and smiled. She knew how little anyone knows about what lies ahead in life’s journey, and how we all have to be ready. for whatever comes our way!

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

The Story of Tarore (continued from last week)

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  One night on this trip with her father, there was a shout from some enemy marauders, and all Ngakuku’s men quickly got away. But Tarore didn’t hear them and when the enemy came upon her, they killed her with their clubs and then took her book and made off. None of them could read and they didn’t really know what to do with it.

When they arrived at their home village at Rotorua, one of the captive slaves there could read. So he picked it up and would read it out loud to anyone who would listen. After some weeks, the message of the book started to work on the chief who had killed Tarore. “Those are the words of Truth”, he said, “It is teaching us that we must only do good to others. I have not done good. I must go and tell Ngakuku what I have learned”.

He made his way through the bush trails and over the hills to Ngakuku’s village. When the men of the village saw him coming, they said to Ngakuku, “Here is our enemy. We must kill him and take utu (revenge) for our little Tarore”.

“No, no” said Ngakuku, “That is not right either. That is not the way of Tarore’s book. Let us hear what he has to say”.

So the two chiefs met together, and made peace with each other. They had both come to know the One True God that Tarore’s little book had told them about, and it took all the hatred away from them.                                                                                                                                       But Tarore’s little book had not finished its work yet. The slave at Rotorua was set free to go back to his own place which was many miles to the south, and when he went he took Tarore’s book with him. After all, no-one else could read it. Once again that little book did its work. As the slave read out loud to the people around the fire, two more young warriors heard what it said and believed it. They talked together and said that it wasn’t good to keep these words to themselves.

“Let’s go and tell the southern tribes these words of the One True God”, they said. So they asked for the little book and paddled off down through Cook Strait, and along the eastern coast of New Zealand’s South Island eastern coastline.    Everywhere they pulled over to stay, they would read the words of this book of Luke. Many of the Maori people believed their words, and when the white missionaries went to those areas many years later, they found the people were already believing about the One True God.

It all started with one little girl who wanted to learn to read. What seemed to be a terrible tragedy when little Tarore was killed, God turned into a wonderful blessing….Tarore went to be with Him and many hundreds of people came to hear about Him as a result. It just shows that we are never too little to tell others about the Lord Jesus. Tarore’s grave is still able to be seen in a paddock near Highway 27 just out of Matamata, Waikato….it has a plaque with her name on it.

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

The True Story of Tarore, Part One

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Tarore was a little Maori girl who lived in the Waikato part of New Zealand back in the times when there were only a very few white people living there. The Maori people still hadn’t got European clothes to wear, nor did they have proper houses to live in. Things were still very primitive in their villages. Tarore didn’t really know much about the white people. She lived in the village with her parents and her little brother.

She often heard her father talking with the other warriors about things like battles and utu (revenge) and she knew there were often wars going on between the different tribes near where they were living. If anyone was killed, even if it was an accident, one of that person’s relatives would have to kill another person to get even.

Tarore knew that white people had books that they could read, and there came this longing into her mind, that she wanted to learn to read. If only she could get to where the white missionary lady lived, she might teach her to read, she thought. She told her father (Ngakuku) one day about this, and how much she wanted to be able to read.                                                                                                                           “What good will that do you?”, he asked, “It won’t help you to get food to eat!”

But nothing put Tarore off. Every now and then, she would ask her father to let her go and see the white  lady. At last, he said “Yes”, and Tarore was so pleased. She could hardly wait to leave and go.           She trudged along the forest trails and over the high hills between their village and the new town on the coast where the missionaries lived. When she arrived at the house where the missionaries (Mr. and Mrs. Brown) lived, she was almost too afraid to walk up the path and knock on the door. But she got enough courage to do this. Mrs. Brown came to the door and saw this little Maori girl standing there in her flax  skirt holding her little kit-bag with a few things in it. Mrs. Brown knew enough of the Maori language to understand what Tarore was saying.                                                                                                                    “Of course we will teach you how to read”, she said kindly, “But you will have to live with us here in the house and learn our ways first”. Tarore was overjoyed and soon learned how to wear the strange sort of clothes that Mrs. Brown gave her. She also had to learn how to sit at a table and eat her food off a plate with a knife and fork. She found this very strange at first….it was so much easier and quicker to eat with one’s fingers! But because she couldn’t wait to begin her reading lessons, she quickly did as she was told.                                                       She had other things to learn too. How to sleep in a proper bed instead of on the floor, and then how to make it the next morning. How to have a bath and keep her hair tidy and clean. Everything was so different!

At last the day came when she could begin to learn to read. She picked it up very quickly, but also had to learn how to spell words out and how to write them too. She also learned about the Bible and how it was God’s book for everyone to read. She was so pleased that she would be able to learn to read from this book.  The part of the Bible that Mrs. Brown used to teach Tarore to read from,  was the  part called the book of Luke (in the Maori language it was Ruka). Mrs. Brown taught her in the Maori language from a Maori translation of the Bible.                                                                                                             After some months, Mrs. Brown told Tarore she had learned enough to go home and read to the whanau (family). Mrs. Brown prayed as she watched Tarore trot off  wearing her green dress and carrying her little kit-bag with her precious copy of Luke in it, “Please dear God, keep her safe and help her to be able to tell her own people about You”.

Tarore made her way home and was so happy to be able to read to her family as they sat around the fire at night. At first her father,  Ngakuku refused to listen.                                                                                   “That’s just stuff for women and children” he said.                                            But after some weeks, he began to listen and one day, he said,                “Those are the words of truth from the One True God”.

Shortly after this, he and some of his men made a journey off through the bush, taking Tarore and her little brother with them. Tarore took her precious copy of the book of  Luke with her, and at night  she would read it before lying down and then put it under her head as she went to sleep.

(This story will be continued next week)

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Great Meanings

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   “Sarah, tell me what the sermon was about this morning,”  Uncle Jeff asked as the family finished their lunch around the table one Sunday.

“Well, the minister had three points,“  Sarah said as she folded her table napkin, “He was talking about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, ” she said as an afterthought.

“What about them?” Uncle Jeff asked, “What can you remember about them Bobby?” he asked as he turned to him.

“He said that Abraham was always building an altar everywhere he stayed”, Bobby said.

“Well, that’s right”,  Uncle Jeff said, “But why would he want to do that?”

“He did it for God,” Betty piped up .

“Did not,” said Bobby, “He did it because God told him to!”

“That’s what I said, “  Betty said in an aggrieved voice.

“Come on you two,” Mum said, “That’s enough!”

“Well, what about Isaac then?” Uncle Jeff asked. “What was so special about Isaac?”

“Isaac was a promised baby,” Sarah said, “His mother and father didn’t have any children for years and years and God kept telling them they would, and at last they did. They called him Isaac which means happy.”

“That’s right,” said Uncle Jeff, “And he was a happy little boy too. What did he do when he grew up?”

“He dug wells wherever he went,” Bobby said.

“What do you think the wells meant? What were they for?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“ Well, wells give water,” said Sarah thoughtfully, “So they must stop people being thirsty. We need water too, to get washed with.”

“Alright,” said Uncle Jeff , “Let’s think about these two things for a minute. Abraham made altars, and Jacob dug wells. What do you think they signify?”

“Dunno!” said Bobby as he ran an imaginary truck along the edge of the table.

“I guess Abraham  wanted to worship God and that Isaac believed that God would give him the water he needed for his soul. After all, we all need water to wash with and to drink.” Sarah said.

“That’s quite right,” Uncle Jeff said. “What else did the preacher say this morning? What was the third thing?”

“Something about Jacob!” Betty said, “It was something about Jacob!”

“I remember!” Bobby said, “He said that Jacob was wrestling with a man….brrm,brrm.”

“Yes, but the point was that Jacob thought he knew it all until he had to meet his brother who he had cheated, and he was scared. All his cleverness didn’t do him any good then! “ Sarah said, “It was really an angel who was wrestling with him and he didn’t know it was. Jacob was nearly beating him too, and then the angel touched the top of his leg and he began to limp, and he limped for ever after. What did that mean Uncle Jeff ? ”

“It showed Jacob that he wasn’t as smart as he had thought he was, and that he had to depend on God after all,” Uncle Jeff said, “It also showed everyone else that Jacob was different now, and he wasn’t  the cheat  that he had once been. You know, when we really come to know God, we will be different too….we won’t limp like Jacob did, but people will see that we don’t tell lies or dirty jokes any more or do mean things to other people.

And something more too about Jacob,” Uncle Jeff went on, “It wasn’t until Jacob got right with God, that he was able to go back to where the altar was that his grandfather had built so he could worship God once more in the right way. That’s just like us too, we can’t really worship God properly until we have washed ourselves in the water of repentance, and learned to depend on God. It was after this, that God gave Jacob a new name….Jacob’s name  had meant “Cheat”, now he was to be called Israel which means “Prince with God”, and that name has stuck right down to today!”

Mum had been listening to all this while they were talking, and now she said, “Isn’t it wonderful the way the Bible tells us stories that have such deep meanings for us if we will only think about them and take notice!”

“It sure is,” said Uncle Jeff, “And now I’d better go as I’ve got things to do. See you all next week!”  as he went off.

You can read this story for yourselves in the Bible in  Genesis chapters 13:1-4;   26: 32-33;   32: 24-30;   35:9-13.

Grandma's Stories, Life Lessons, Stories for Teens

Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People? (Pt 1)

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A good friend of ours was ill for a couple of weeks and in the end she went to the doctor when her breathing became difficult. After numerous tests, she was told that she had an aggressive type of lung cancer. Needless to say this left everyone who knew her in a state of shock. “Why her?” people were asking, “She did so much good around the place!!”

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! I got to thinking about this age-old question and then thought about a man in the Bible whose name was Job (pronounced Jobe). He was a good man who always did the best he could and then he lost everything. But reading this story  will give us a picture of why this happened which will help us to see things differently and put them in a wider picture when things go wrong for us too.

Let’s turn to the book of Job in the Bible and see what it says about him….                                                                                                                                                  In 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.                                       ”       “Oh, 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’m the only one  escaped  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. He had truly shown a godly attitude to a disastrous situation, just as God had known he would.

So the next time something bad happens, just remember that maybe God is using this to show others the right way to behave and act by what you do and say.

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens, Uncategorized

Progressions…..

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“Sarah, tell me what the sermon was about this morning,”  Uncle Jeff asked as the family finished their lunch around the table one Sunday.

“Well, the minister had three points,“  Sarah said as she folded her table napkin, “He was talking about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, ” she said as an afterthought.

“What about them?” Uncle Jeff asked, “What can you remember about them Bobby?” he asked as he turned to him.

“He said that Abraham was always building an altar everywhere he stayed”, Bobby said.

“Well, that’s right”,  Uncle Jeff said, “But why would he want to do that?”

“He did it for God,” Betty piped up .

“Did not,” said Bobby, “He did it because God told him to!”

“That’s what I said, “  Betty said in an aggrieved voice.

“Come on you two,” Mum said, “That’s enough!”

“Well, what about Isaac then?” Uncle Jeff asked. “What was so special about Isaac?”

“Isaac was a promised baby,” Sarah said, “His mother and father didn’t have any children for years and years and God kept telling them they would, and at last they did. They called him Isaac which means happy.”

“That’s right,” said Uncle Jeff, “And he was a happy little boy too. What did he do when he grew up?”

“He dug wells wherever he went,” Bobby said.

“What do you think the wells meant? What were they for?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“ Well, wells give water,” said Sarah thoughtfully, “So they must stop people being thirsty. We need water too, to get washed with.”

“Alright,” said Uncle Jeff , “Let’s think about these two things for a minute. Abraham made altars, and Jacob dug wells. What do you think they meant?”

“Dunno!” said Bobby as he ran an imaginary truck along the edge of the table.

“I guess Abraham  wanted to worship God and that Isaac believed that God would give him the water he needed for his soul. After all, we all need water to wash with and to drink.” Sarah said.

“That’s quite right,” Uncle Jeff said. “What else did the preacher say this morning? What was the third thing?”

“Something about Jacob!” Betty said, “It was something about Jacob!”

“I remember!” Bobby said, “He said that Jacob was wrestling with a man….brrm, brrm.”

“Yes, but the point was that Jacob thought he knew it all until he had to meet his brother who he had cheated, and he was scared. All his cleverness didn’t do him any good then! “ Sarah said, “It was really an angel who was wrestling with him  wasn’t it,  and he didn’t know it was. Jacob was nearly beating him too, and then the angel touched the top of his leg and he began to limp, and he limped for ever after. What did that mean Uncle Jeff ? ”

“It showed Jacob that he wasn’t as smart as he had thought he was, and that he had to depend on God after all,” Uncle Jeff said, “It also showed everyone else that Jacob was different now, and he wasn’t  the cheat  that he had once been. You know, when we really come to know God, we will be different too….we won’t limp like Jacob did, but people will see that we don’t tell lies or dirty jokes any more or do mean things to other people.                                                                          And something more too about Jacob,” Uncle Jeff went on, “It wasn’t until Jacob got right with God, that he was able to go back to where the altar was that his grandfather had built so he could worship God once more in the right way. That’s just like us too, we can’t really worship God properly until we have washed ourselves in the water of repentance, and learned to depend on God. It was after this, that God gave Jacob a new name….Jacob’s name  had meant “Cheat”, now he was to be called Israel which means “Prince with God”, and that name has stuck right down to today!”

Mum had been listening to all this while they were talking, and now she said, “Isn’t it wonderful the way the Bible tells us stories that have such deep meanings for us if we will only think about them and take notice!”

“It sure is,” said Uncle Jeff, “And now I’d better go as I’ve got things to do. See you all next week!”  as he went off.

 

You can read this story for yourselves in the Bible in  Genesis chapters 13:1-4;   26: 32-33;   32: 24-30;   35:9-13.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Be Sure your Sin Will Find You Out!!

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 You will find this story in Joshua 10:1-27, 11:1-11……      News of the way Joshua and the men of Israel had conquered the cities of both Jericho and Ai had spread far and wide in the region that Israel was now entering.

    The men of Gibeon got together and said to each other, “Have you heard what Joshua has done to Jericho and Ai? We’ll have to do something to make peace with him before he attacks us!”

“Yes,” said one, “Let’s pretend we’ve come from a far country with old worn out clothes and shoes and mouldy bread to make it look as though we’ve been on a very long journey, and ask him if he’ll make a treaty with us”.

“What a good idea!” they all agreed.

     So a group of them got together, and dressed in old shabby clothes with worn out shoes, and carried their bag of mouldy bread over their shoulders and went to meet Joshua. When they found him, they told their story and produced the evidence….”Look Joshua,  here’s our mouldy bread and worn out shoes. This shows how far we’ve come! Make a treaty with us,” they said.

    This is where Joshua slipped up. He should have said, “I’ll ask God first”, but he didn’t. He looked at the supposed evidence and believed what they said.

“Sure”, he said, “We can do that!”

So he agreed to make a treaty with them which guaranteed them to be protected by Israel, no matter what. They went away smiling and pleased with themselves.

    Three days later the news leaked out, and the men of Israel found out that these people who had supposedly come from far away, actually lived right among them! The people of Israel heard what these people had done, and they started whispering among themselves against the princes and leaders who had made this treaty. They heard these death threats that the people were making.

  “We can’t do anything to them,” they said, “We’ve made a solemn treaty with them. Joshua called for the Gibeonites to come to him.

“You frauds!” he said, “You lied to us! You just live nearby! From now on, you will be our servants and do all our heavy work for us!”

The other Israelis said, “Let’s teach them a lesson, the lying sods!”

“No, we can’t do that,” Joshua said, “We’ve made them a solemn promise and we have to keep to it!”

    The Gibeonites didn’t mind, and said to each other, “At least we’ll be protected if we become their servants!”

      In chapter ten, we see that is exactly what happened. The people of Gibeon started to prosper and do really well. Their animals all grew fat and big, and their gardens bore large crops. The other tribes round about them began to mutter….”Let’s get together and go and teach Gibeon a lesson! That will teach them to make peace with Israel our enemy!”

The men of Gibeon heard these threats, and quickly sent a message to Joshua, “Come and help us from these other kings. We’re your servants, remember!”

This time Joshua remembered to ask God what to do. “Go and chase them out,” God said, “Don’t be afraid, because I’m going to fight for you!”

Joshua and his men travelled all night and came upon the enemy first thing in the morning. They didn’t know what had struck them when Joshua and his men started to chase them. They ran, and as they ran the sky got darker and darker, and God sent enormous hailstones on them. More people died with the hailstones than died in the actual battle!

    This was the beginning of a great victory for Israel, and they took all the cities of the land one by one because the Lord fought for them (Joshua 10:42)

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

What’s it all About?

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  Uncle Jeff was driving back from the camp complex where the meetings had been held, with Sarah, Bobby, and Betty.                                                                                                                               “What did you do for your activities, Betty?” Sarah asked her little sister.                                                                                                                                    “Oh we all coloured a paper Noah’s Ark, then cut it out and made it up,” said Betty. “It wasn’t all that easy either.”                                                 “I don’t suppose it was easy for Noah either, to make the ark,” said Bobby.                                                                                                                                “No, I guess it wasn’t,” Sarah said, “Can you  imagine what it was like to get all the animals into the ark? Just think of hauling an elephant inside!”                                                                                                                          “Haha,” said Bobby, “Imagine getting giraffes in too!”

“Well, can either of you older ones remember what the main speaker was talking about this morning?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“Yes, it was about the lamp that Moses had made in the wilderness, that was to go in God’s tent,‘ said Bobby, “The tent was called the tabernacle.”.

“He said lots of things about the lamp,” Sarah said thoughtfully, “I never knew it meant so many things.”

“That’s why it’s important to think about them,” Uncle Jeff said, :”Everything in the Old Testament part of the Bible has a matching part in the New Testament.”                                                                                “Really?” said Sarah, “I didn’t know that!”                                                          “Yes,” said Uncle Jeff, ”That’s why God told Moses to make it exactly to the pattern He gave him, because it was all a picture of something in heaven”.

“Ooh,” said Betty, “Was Noah’s Ark a picture of something too, Uncle Jeff ?”

“Sure was,” he said, “What do you think it might have been a picture of Bobby?”

“Well, it saved Noah and his family and all the animals in it from being drowned,” Bobby said after thinking for a while, “ So I guess it was a picture of how the Lord Jesus saves us.”

“That’s right,” Uncle Jeff agreed, “But let’s get back to the lamp. It had seven branches all decorated up beautifully. Why do you think there was one tall one in the middle with six others around it?”

“Well, the Lord Jesus is in the middle of His people,” Sarah said.

“That’s right,” Uncle Jeff agreed, “What does a light do?”

“It chases the dark away,” piped up Betty.

“How does Jesus chase the dark away from us then?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“He said He was the light of the world, “ said Sarah, “There is no darkness in Him at all anywhere, and He never stops shining.”

“Yes, that’s true. He said too that we must be lights in this world showing others how to live right. What makes those old fashioned lamps keep burning brightly?”

“I know!” Bobby said, “They’ve got a wick down in some oil inside them and the wick has to be kept trimmed all the time or else the light gets dull”.

“So what do you think that means?” said Uncle Jeff, changing gear as they came to a hill.

“I guess it means that we are like the wick that needs to be trimmed too,” Sarah said, “When we get into bad habits, God needs to trim us up.”

“Do you think it would be pleasant for the wick to be trimmed?” asked  Uncle Jeff.

“I wouldn’t like to be trimmed,” said Betty.

“Ho ho, you sure don’t like it when you have to go to your room for being naughty!” Bobby chortled.

“You too!” and Betty gave him a poke.

“OK, OK,” said Uncle Jeff, “What was the lampstand made out of?”

“Pure gold”, Bobby said.

“What did the preacher say that was a picture of?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“It was a picture of how the Lord Jesus was God’s Son and just like Him,” Sarah said.

“Yes, and what else does it show us about the Lord Jesus?”

“He was beautiful,” Bobby said.

“Yes, and He lasts for ever.” Sarah added.

“Then gold costs a lot of money,’ Bobby said, “And I guess it means that Jesus is just the bestest person there has ever been!”

“Well done!” Uncle Jeff said as he turned into their street, “What was one last thing the preacher said about the lamp?”

“It kept burning all night till the morning!” Betty said.

“I was going to say that!” Bobby said.

“What does the morning mean then?”

“Well, the morning is like when Jesus comes back again, and the night has gone” Sarah said, “And we have to keep shining for Him until He comes back again!”

“That’s dead right,” Uncle Jeff  said as he turned into their driveway, and pulled up, “Now it’s up to us to remember all these things and all be little lights for Jesus. .Let’s go inside now and find something to eat!”