"I LIKE TO READ MY BIBLE"

    Since our first post on September 1 of this year we have had just over 8,000 visits to “The Mound.”  I was feeling pretty good about this until I read about a guy who has had five million visits to his blog in eighteen months  Still, I am very thankful to each person who reads this blog, to those who have shared it with others, and to those who have made comments, both on the site as well as through other methods (emails, personal contact, etc.)  It is my sincere prayer that “Thoughts From the Mound” will always build up and never tear down. My prayer is that you will be encouraged, edified, and sometimes challenged by what you read.  We will continue to post “Preacher’s Notes” from time to time to especially encourage young men who are preaching the Word of God.  

Our youngest reader is an outstanding young boy who reads our posts from time to time and has passed along comments through his dad.  I want to relate a story about this young man that his dad recently shared with me.  He was putting his son to bed a few weeks ago and his son “wanted to go to the garage and get something out of the van.  The kids seem to try to do that a lot (i.e. get out of bed after going to bed), so I told him no he'd have to wait until morning.  He started to well up with tears and mumbled out that when he wakes up early on some mornings and he likes to read his Bible and his Bible was in the van.  Obviously, I had to go out and get it for him. Later that week, I came back in to check on him one night when he should have been asleep.  I saw him sitting up on his top bunk with a blanket over his head and one of his flashlights on.  I pulled off the blanket and there he was reading his Bible.  I asked him what he was reading and he said Revelation. I went in and we discussed some.  He was trying to say Pergamum and it sounded more like 'per grandma'.  He then pointed out to me that all of these started out by ‘To the angel at the church...’ and I told him good job for noticing and that these were to the 7 churches.  Went back to chapter 1 to show him (in red letter) where Jesus told John which 7 churches.  He repeated ‘Philadelphia!’ when we came to that one.  He also was talking about "Do not be afraid" and I didn't see it in chapter 2, but he was going back referencing chapter 1.” How wonderful to know that this father and his young son discuss the Word of God together!

This story brings to my mind the words of Deuteronomy 6. "Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your God has commanded {me} to teach you, that you might do {them} in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.  "O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do {it,} that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, {in} a land flowing with milk and honey.  "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.  "You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.  "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.  "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” 

Dear Father, please raise up more parents who will study the Word with their children. Please raise up more young people who will have the attitude like this fine young boy and say, “I like to read my Bible.”