Mama and I lived across the street from the school in DeValls Bluff when I was around seven years old. Mama rented an old two-story Civil War home. It was not in the best shape, but I thought it was amazing! I only wish it was still standing.
I used the entire outside area as my own personal playground, from our humongous yard to the whole school grounds. I would ride my bicycle around the sidewalks and pretend I was on my way to work. I’d play on the monkey bars, the slide, and swings until my energy wouldn’t allow me to continue - or until dark... whichever came first.
The Bite
One summer day, I walked through the grass barefoot and suddenly felt a sharp pain between my little toes. Come to find out, a bee had got me good. Boy, did that sucker throb.
You're fortunate if you’ve never been bitten by a bee between your two littlest toes. It hurts! It hurt so badly that I should’ve learned my lesson. I should’ve walked around with shoes on after that. But you know what? I didn’t learn my lesson. Nope. I kept running around barefoot. I was lucky enough that I didn’t get another bite between the toes. But I did cut my big toe (I still have that scar), among other things!
Learning Lessons Now that I’m an adult, I think back to that experience and can’t help but compare it to sin. Do you ever get “bitten” by sin because you don’t change your ways? Do you struggle with learning your lesson? With making necessary changes in your life? Are you walking around barefoot in this world? Leaving yourself open for Satan to attack?
If you answered yes, then it’s time to make some changes!
Making Changes
You may be wondering what I mean by that. You need to look at your life and figure out what you struggle with, then change some things.
Do you have a tendency to gossip when you call certain people? Start texting them. OR sending cards. Maybe write a big DON’T GOSSIP on a sticky note and put it in your face while you're on the phone.
Do you desire the taste of alcohol? Stay away from people who drink. Stop driving by the liquor store. Take the back roads instead.
Do you tell lies? Write out BE HONEST on your bathroom mirror, so you see it every day. Pick out at least one bible verse on lying and meditate on it daily. Keep your mouth shut. You don’t have to always be talking.
Do you have thoughts of committing adultery? Never, ever put yourself alone with the opposite sex. Not at home. Not at work. Not anywhere.
What I’ve written are just a few random examples. You get the gist of what I’m talking about. Examine your own life and build out a plan that will work for you!
God will help you, but you have to help yourself.
1 Corinthians 10:13: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
God will make a way to escape, but you have to be willing to use that escape. He will not force you to take what He offers. It’s up to you!
God created us with free moral agency. He will never force us to love Him, obey Him or become a Christian. He designed man with the ability to choose.
Honestly, I can't imagine anyone choosing not to love or obey God. Becoming a Christian was the best choice I've ever made. My life changed so much for the better!
Maybe you don’t know if you’re a Christian. Perhaps you have questions. Shoot me a note. I’ll be proud to study with you or get you with someone who will study with you.
The Ultimate Change
There's no better time to obey the gospel than today! There's no better time to repent if you need to. The choice is yours. Just know your very life hangs in the balance. Your decision right now will make an everlasting difference. To you. To your family. And who knows who else! Your influence could cause others to turn to Christ. Wouldn't that be something!
How does one become a Christian? Please take the time to study the verse references I have listed here. Don't take my word for it. Study it out for yourself.
1. Hear the Gospel. (Romans 10:17, John 8:32)
2. Believe the Gospel (Hebrews 11:6, John 20:31)
3. Repent of past sins (Luke 13:3, Acts 17:30)
4. Confess faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:10, Matthew 10:32)
5. Be Baptized (Galatians 3:27, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38)
6. Be faithful unto death (Revelation 2:10)
As always, I am here to study any time. Day or night!
In Christian Love,
Leah Brewer
This is me in front of the DVB school a couple years ago. The sidewalk in the background is the very sidewalk I played on 40 years ago! Sadly, the school has closed down, but I still have my memories. OH, the memories!