About five years ago Cheryl and I went to her home church in Vernon for their annual BBQ fundraiser. Bethany and Scott and Malachi were there, too. Cheryl has a younger sister who lives next door to her parents. Bethany wanted to go see her aunt’s house, but she said it wasn’t a good time. At first, she wouldn’t say why, but then she fessed up. She had a dog that she had been trying to house train, and was not having much success. One of her friends told her about this spray she could buy that worked well for her, so she bought it. She went home and sprayed her entire house with this spray. And then her dog started going all over the house! When my sister-in-law read the label on the bottle, it said to spray it WHERE YOU WANT THE DOG TO GO! She thought it was a deterrent, but it was actually an attractant. That poor dog was wearing itself out trying to go all over the house!

Cheryl’s sister had the right thing, but she didn’t use it properly. She didn’t read the instructions. And there is a lesson for followers of Jesus here. Just having a Bible isn’t enough. You have to read the instructions! You need to be in God’s Word and let God’s Word be in you! You need to keep reading it, listening to it, and letting it guide and direct you. It is where God speaks to you, and you need that need every day of your life. It tells you what God has done for you in sending Jesus to be your Savior, and it tells you how God would have you live in response to that.

Be in the Word!