Dear Children,
This letter will probably make you laugh a little and still pass on a serious message as well.
“Okay, I’m listening, Grampa.”
Well, here is what happened. Gramma and I were sitting outside beside the side door to our house. We were watching the birds come and go to the feeding stations and admiring our God’s wisdom in creation. Wesley, our new dog that I’ve told you about before, was behind the barn, doing some hunting on his own. Suddenly, he came running from behind the barn as fast as his legs could carry him! Then he stopped, looked back, then started running again ... right up the steps to where we were sitting. He stopped in front of the door and wanted inside. Something was chasing Wesley and flying right behind him!
“Grampa, what was it?”
It was a big bumblebee! Children, those bees can sting! And Wesley, as young as he is, was smart enough to know that.
Now, do you know that the word “sting” is in the holy Bible? Get your Bible and open it to 1 Corinthians, chapter 15 and find verse 56. This is what it says: “The sting of death is sin”! Oh, my! That means that every time you break just one of God’s commandments, that sin is a sting of death! Have you ever thought about this? Telling lies, cheating, swearing, disobeying your mum and dad, and breaking other commandments are all stings of sin.
So how many times have you been stung by sin? Yes, lots of times. What is the result of all these stings? The result is hell and the lake of fire! But our loving God, our Creator, does not want you to end up in that terrible place. He has given us a way of escape. In other words, He has provided a remedy or healing for all those stings of sin. The remedy is found in your Bible. Turn to 1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7): “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” And remember, God’s remedy is FREE! Ephesians 2:8-98For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8‑9) says, “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” Children, a gift is FREE and you don’t work for it—it is GIVEN to you!
When I was growing up, I had lots of sin stings. But you have a terrible sting out there today that I never had to deal with—it’s called drugs! Do what Wesley did when that bumblebee was chasing him ... run, run as fast as you can away from it! But if you have been stung by drugs, remember this, our Lord Jesus Christ came into contact with ten men who were lepers. That means they had the hopeless disease of leprosy, and He healed them all! And He can forgive your sins as well. You can read about those ten men in Luke 17:11-1911And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. (Luke 17:11‑19).
“Grampa, what happened to Wesley? Did the bee sting him?”
No, Wesley didn’t get stung. I picked up the broom that stands beside the door, and using it as a baseball bat, I swatted that bee and made a home run! Boy, was Wesley ever happy! His tail was wagging, and he wanted to give me a big lick!
And you’ll be happy too when you come to Jesus and tell Him that you want Him to heal all your sin stings by forgiving them. Will you do that today? You’ll be happier than Wesley was!
Lots of love,
Grampa and Gramma
ML-10/10/2010