Sis. Jessica Willoby
Especially for Children
I love mysteries! I enjoy solving puzzles and playing games that take a bit of detective work. Do you? Did you know you can take those same skills and apply them to studying your Bible? It’s true!
As Church of God children, you are taught to read your Bible everyday as part of your daily devotions, but as you grow older, studying the Bible should become a part of regular devotions. You may say, “But I am a child. I can’t study the Bible.” As children you are also taught to investigate the articles and stories you read in your classroom. What are you looking for? The Five W’s and How, right? Who, what, where, when, why and how! These can also be used for studying the Bible.
Let’s look at an example: 2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34.
Who: Josiah, a king of Israel at eight years old.
Where: In Judah and Jerusalem in Old Testament times.
What: Josiah’s heart was tender, and he humbled himself (2 Kings 22:19) doing what was right in the sight of God to be a good king. A life that pleases God doesn’t happen by accident. Josiah made a choice to do right and so can we!
Why: In 2 Kings 22:11-20, Josiah heard the Word of God and acted upon it. Can you find other passages that mention hearing God’s Word? Read James 1:22-24. We know that like Josiah, we need to be a doer, not just a hearer of God’s Word because God’s Word requires a response.
When: Josiah was a child when he became king and chose to follow God. He led the people to do the same. We can choose to obey God today, too. We don’t have to wait until we are older to be pleasing to God.
How: Josiah sent for the priest and the elders for help. We have parents, our pastor, the saints, and good friends to help us. Digging into the familiar stories in the Bible will help us learn and grow, laying a good foundation for our daily devotions as we get older. †