The Simple Things

By Susan Gahan

Do you stop to enjoy the simple things in life? I remember when I was a child and would walk to the corner store. It was really just a little store with a wooden floor that sold penny candy. The man behind the counter would put all of my choices in a tiny paper bag. Heaven, I'm in heaven! Do you remember playing kickball, Red Rover, Mother, May I, and just having a total blast? My mom would let us buy popsicles from a Jingle Scoot man who drove a truck around our neighborhood. Times have changed, but God hasn't.

Our bible study group got together, and we were going on and on about what some think of the Bible today. One comment was that the Bible is old-fashioned and not up-to-date. I could not even imagine the Bible changing to conform to today's times. People seem to want to rewrite the Bible to suit their needs and desires. I don't think that everyone truly understands that the Bible is the holy, inspired Word of God. You can't change that.

I miss the carefree life of a child. I miss being able to play a softball game in my backyard with just my neighborhood friends. I miss root beer floats on a hot day and hotdogs at a baseball game. I know that those days are over, but people seem to make life so hard. What happened to birthday parties with just family? What happened to stay married to one person for the rest of your life? What happened to worship one God? The media would say we want the freedom to choose what we want. So what if, back in the day, Jesus chose at the last minute not to die on the Cross to save my pitiful soul? One has to have rules to live by whether one likes it or not. I did not always like the rules that my earthly father gave me, but I obeyed them. The Bible is our moral compass, and, once again, God never changes.

The Bible doesn't need to be rewritten, updated, or retranslated. We need to be rewritten. Our minds need to be rewritten and reprogrammed. People of today need to get back to a more simplistic belief system. For some, I guess that it is just easier to conform than stand on what you believe. Well, I believe in God, and I will stand firm on it. Do I struggle? Yes, but I am still standing.

We are the sequel in our generation to the written Word. In television lingo, the word would be "spin-off." We are act two of the play. How we live and worship God will affect the next sequel, our children. I do not want my children to conform to this world, and I do not want them taught that it is fine to rewrite God's holy Word. The thought of that is not okay with me. We are children of God and not supposed to conform to the world and its values.

I had a dream last night that a man came down the hall and was throwing things at me. They were big and hard things. I did not fall, and I did not cry. I stood. When things are coming at you, you need to stand on God and His written Word. Do what it says, and He will always take care of you. Cast your fears on Him and believe.

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."